6th – 8th
November 2023
Not since 1980 had there been a State Visit from Spain to Denmark. The latest State Visit between the two countries took place three years later, in 1983. A possible visit to Denmark was thus frequently mentioned among Royal watchers ever since King Felipe VI succeeded to the Spanish throne in 2014 as something to likely take place within a short time. Rumours also have it that a visit has been in the pipeline for a long time, but due to political events, Covid pandemic and health issues it never materialized. Not until now. In October it was announced by the Danish Royal Court that His Majesty King Felipe VI would pay a State Visit to Denmark having accepted Her Majesty the Queen’s gracious invitation.
The Spanish Royal Couple were accompanied by several members of their household as well as officials including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and representatives from Spanish businesses. At the airport in Madrid Their Majesties were given a formal send-off.
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Additional Information
Day 1
Arrival and Welcoming Ceremony
Receiving the Spanish guests at the Vilhelm Lauritzens Terminal at Kastrup airport outside Copenhagen were Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark, Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess of Denmark as well as Her Royal Highness Princess Benedikte. Soldiers and musicians from the Life Guard in their distinctive red and blue uniforms and huge bearskin caps were also present at the arrival. Inspecting the Guard of Honour composed by these troops the King was accompanied by Queen Margrethe II while Queen Letizia remained with the Crown Princely Couple.
The Danish Queen was dressed in a vibrant fuchsia coloured two-piece with a matching hat. It was in fact not that long ago this particular two-piece had been seen as the Queen wore it for the balcony appearance for Prince Christian 18th birthday. It was then worn with a different brooch though. On the arrival of the Spanish Royal Couple she paired it with a favourite brooch of the Queen; the Connaught Pearl Bar brooch. To keep out the cold the Queen wore a grey cape over her shoulders.
On departure from Madrid Queen Letizia had been seen wearing a yellow blazer with black trousers, black coat and black boots. Stepping onto Danish soil, however, Her Majesty had changed into something very different. She now wore a red dress which she had combined with red pumps, red clutch and a large white coat, red and white being the colours of the Danish flag of course. Unlike the other Royal ladies Queen Letizia did not wear a hat. Apparently she dislikes wearing them even though she did wear one for the welcoming ceremony in London when the Spanish Royal Couple paid a State Visit to the United Kingdom.
It was obvious that although the weather was sunny it was a crisp autumnal day. Both the Crown Prince and Crown Princess wore coats to keep out the cold, the Crown Prince a grey one while the Crown Princess had chosen a dark green one. Her Royal Highness combined it with a hat in a dark blue hue.
Princess Benedikte had also chosen a warm long coat, this one in tweed by Annette Freifeldt matching more or less the colour worn by her elder sister.
An excellent site to visit in order to find more details regarding the wardrobe of the Royal ladies is Ufonomore:
https://ufonomore.com/blog/2023/11/6/spanish-state-visit-to-denmark-day-1
From the airport the Royal party travelled in cars towards the city centre. When they reached the citadel Queen Margrethe, King Felipe and Queen Letizia changed their mean of transport to a horse-drawn carriage. The particular landau carriage they were riding in was built in 1889 and weighs 650 kilos. Although the carriage was a closed one it was just possible to make out that His Majesty sat next to the Danish Queen while Queen Letizia had taken a seat opposite them. Escorted by a detachment from the mounted squadron of the Guard Hussars they continued through the streets of Copenhagen before finally reaching their destination of Amalienborg Palace. While the Queen and her Royal guests made their way in the carriage the Crown Princely Couple arrived at Amalienborg Palace by car with the Head of the Spanish Royal Household. Here they would wait for the three Majesties to arrive.
Upon arrival the Royal party was welcomed by the Marshal of the Danish Royal Court. Once inside the Palace official photographs were taken and in a more private setting the exchange of gifts and honours took place. Queen Margrethe had already received the highest honours of the Kingdom of Spain; the Order of the Golden Fleece and the Order of Carlos III. But neither King Felipe nor Queen Letizia had received any Danish honours previously. When Queen Margrethe paid her visit to Spain in 1980 the then Prince of Asturias was too young to take part in the visit and was thus not awarded any Danish decorations. So for this visit the King and Queen of Spain were both bestowed the Order of the Elephant. When King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia paid their visit to Denmark they had awarded Princess Benedikte the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic. But again, the heir to the throne had then been too young to receive Spanish decorations. Thus the King now bestowed both the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess with the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic.
After the exchange of gifts and taking of official photographs, the King drove over to Christiansborg Palace where he had a meeting with the Danish Prime Minister. Accompanying His Majesty was the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs.
State Banquet
In the evening the Queen of Denmark hosted a magnificent State Banquet in honour of her Spanish guests. A large number of Danish guests had been invited in addition to the members of the suite of the Spanish King and Queen. The banquet took place in Christiansborg Palace at eight o’clock in the evening. Since this is not the palace where the Royal Family reside the Royal Party had to arrive by car. But before the Royal guests arrived the other guests dressed in the finest began to fill the rooms of the Palace. Her Majesty had invited members of the Government, representatives from the Parliament and other official institutions. Also on the guest list were members of the Royal Household, the suite of the Spanish King and Queen as well as representatives of Danish sports, culture and businesses.
At the end of the Hall of the Halberdiers that the guests walked through to get to the State Rooms they were all welcomed by the Master of Ceremonies in his splendid red and white ceremonial uniform. A small detachment of soldiers from the Life Guard was line up behind him. After having been greeted by the Master of Ceremonies the guests then turned to their right and continued into the next hall where they would ascend the King’s Staircase up to the State Rooms on the first floor. At the top of the stairs they were welcomed by the Marshal of the Court, also he in the ceremonial uniform of a red tunic and white trousers with golden stripes. Having been granted the title of Chamberlain he wore the sign of this honour in the form of a key fastened on a pale blue ribbon at the back of the uniform. To honour the King of Spain he was seen wearing his newly awarded Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic. To see other appointments made by the Spanish King for this State Visit go to my page on the Honours and Orders, here.
The first member of the Royal Family to arrive was the Queen’s sister Princess Benedikte. Her Royal Highness looked splendid in a wine red gown with Diamond jewellery. She was also welcomed by the Master of Ceremonies. But instead of continuing up the stairs the Princess walked into another room on the ground floor where she would wait for the other Royal guests.
A few minutes after the arrival of Princess Benedikte commando cries were heard outside in the Palace Courtyard. The soldiers lined up there stood to attention as the car bringing the Crown Princely Couple arrived. It drove through the gate and stopped at the Queen’s entrance where Their Royal Highnesses got out and entered the Palace. The Crown Prince donned his dress uniform of a Rear-Admiral in the Danish Royal Navy, complete with a plumed bicorn hat and golden epaulettes. Across his chest he wore the white and yellow Sash of the Order of Isabel the Catholic he had received earlier in the day from the King of Spain. The Order’s Breast Star was also seen pinned to the Crown Prince’s tunic along the Breast Star of the Order of the Elephant and the Order of Dannebrog. Around his neck he wore the badge of a Grand Commander in the Order of Dannebrog suspended in a white ribbon.
The Crown Princess looked a dream in a grey long gown covered in sparkling beads. Many royal watchers had hoped that the Her Royal Highness would appear in the stunning ruby parure. She chose, however, to wear her Edwardian Diamond and Ruby tiara with some more discreet jewels. Like her husband she also honoured the Spanish King by wearing the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of Isabel the Catholic.
Again a few minutes past and then shouts were heard from the Palace Courtyard announcing the arrival of the evening’s hostess; the Queen. Her Majesty arrived in a spotlessly clean and shiningly polished Rolls Royce accompanied by a lady-in-waiting and an aide-de-camp. Normally, given her sovereign rank, the Queen would be the last one to arrive even if she was the evening’s hostess. On this occasion, however, since she was hosting the banquet in honour of a fellow Head of State and his consort she arrived just before them in order to be there to welcome the Spanish Royal Couple. Appearing in a dark green lace gown which Her Majesty has worn to numerous events already the Queen looked magnificent in Emerald jewels from the Crown Jewels collection. In order to keep out the cold she also wore an exquisite grey fur stole. Like everybody else Her Majesty walked through the Hall of the Halberdiers but unlike the other guests she had been greeted already at the entrance by the Master of Ceremonies. As she reached the end of the Hall she was greeted by the Chief of Her Majesty’s Military House before she inspected the guards from the Life Guard. Continuing into the next hall the Queen also inspected the small troop of hussars lined up there before joining the rest of the Royals already arrived.
Now everybody waited for the guests of honour. After about ten minutes the Palace courtyard echoed with the sound of a single pipe and drum announcing the arrival of the cortege of the Spanish King and Queen. They were escorted by a detachment of police motorbikes. Their car drove into the Palace’s carriage entrance where they would alight and make their way up the few stairs to the entrance of the Hall of Halberdiers. News of the arrival of the King and Queen was conveyed to Her Majesty and she went into the Hall of Halberdiers to welcome the Royal Couple. As she arrived the doors were opened and she stopped in front of the entrance. She looked very regal standing there alone, the white walls of the grand Hall highlighting her dark green gown. And she was left there standing for a few moments. It was almost like it took a bit longer than expected for the Spanish Couple to ascend the stairs. And when they finally appeared it seemed like the issued could have been caused by Queen Letizia’s voluminous full skirt. She was wearing a princess styled dark blue gown which she had also worn to the State Banquet during the State Visit to Japan in 2017. Sparkling in her hair was the magnificent Ansorena Fleur-de-lis tiara which was a wedding gift to Queen Victoria Eugenia from her husband King Alfonso XIII. To see a list of the other splendid Diamond jewels she wore, press here to be taken to the next page which has been created for the sparkle seen during this State Visit.
Queen Margrethe greeted her guests and escorted them through the Hall where, at reaching the end, the King inspected the Guard of Honour before the three Majesties continued to join the rest of the Royal party. From here they made their way up to the Velvet Room adjacent to the Great Hall. The other guests, who had been served some refreshments in some of the other rooms while they waited for the Royal arrivals, were now duly presented to the Royal party, the latter forming a greeting line. Having had problems with her back, and taking into the consideration her advanced age, the Danish Queen was sitting in a chair while the rest of the Royal Party stood up; the King and Queen of Spain first, then the Crown Princely Couple and Princess Benedikte at the end. First to be greeted were the members of the Danish Royal Household. This way they would be inside the Great Hall before any of the other guests and thus be able to lend a hand should somebody have problems in finding their seat. A small incident occurred as the Queen shook the hand of one of her ladies-in-waiting. They were all wearing the “uniform” of a lady-in-waiting which in Denmark is identical red gowns designed by the Queen herself and white long opera gloves. Well, as she shook the hand of one of them the Queen’s ring seems to have been caught in a thread or stitch of the white glove and they had to struggle for a few seconds to pull loose from each other.
In the Great Hall the table had been set in a more traditional way compared to the recent 18th birthday gala banquet for Prince Christian when several round tables had been spread around the room. Now the tables had been placed in the shape of a horseshoe. The Royal Family and the Spanish guests of honour would sit at the top of the table with the Queen in the middle flanked by the King of Spain to her right and the Queen of Spain to her left.
Great care had been given to the floral decorations, with the Queen being involved in choosing the flowers. Taking inspiration from the autumn season the flowers had been kept in yellow, orange and salmon hues in addition to a lot of greenery. Leaves from tulip trees and quince from the gardens at Fredensborg Palace had been arranged in pieces from Frederik VI’s dessert service together with nerines, stracises, carnations and roses, to name a few of the flowers.
Once all the guests had entered the Hall they remained standing behind their chairs waiting for the Royals to make their entrance. They would arrive in two separate processions. The first was lead by the Master of Ceremonies followed by the Crown Princely Couple and Princess Benedikte making up the rear. After the doors had been closed behind the first procession a fanfare was heard and the doors opened again. This time it was the Queen’s procession which was lead by the Marshal of the Court. Her Majesty was accompanied by her guests of honour.
To the right of His Majesty sat the Crown Princess followed by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs. To the left of Queen Letizia sat the Crown Prince followed by the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade. The guests were treated to a varied four coursed menu and carefully selected wines:
MENU:
Søtunge souffle, Grøntsager à la Barigoule
(Souffle of Sole and vegetables á la Barigoule)
Dådyrkølle fra Trend, Kåltimbale, kirsebær fra Gråsten, sauce grand veneur
(Leg of Fallow Deer, Timbale of Cabbage, Cherries from Gråsten and Sauce Grand Veneur)
Svampetærte, Brøndkarse fra Esrum Sø
(Mushroom Tart with Watercress from Esrum Lake (close to Fredensborg Palace))
Concorde kage
(Concorde Cake)
Wines:
La Cigaralle du Prince, 2021, Cahors
Chateau de Cayx, 2018, Cahors
Moët et Chandon Cuvée M&H special
But before they could tuck into the delicious courses Her Majesty rose and gave a speech followed by a rendition of the Spanish National Anthem. After having proposed a toast to her Guests of Honour and the Spanish people the King rose and gave his speech. This was followed by the rendition of the Danish National Anthem.
During the greeting of the guests in the Velvet Room and the meal itself music was provided by the Life Guard Band and the programme included pieces of either Spanish and Danish composers or inspiration:
Music: J. Texidor: Amparito Roca G. Lumbye: Dina Polka G. Bizet: Toreadorens sang fra “Carmen” Coldplay: Viva la Vida C. Borel-Clerc: La Sorella March J. Padilla: El Relicario M. de Falla: Møllerens dans fra ”Den trekantede hat” O. Francker: Dansevisen E. Waldteufel: Espana Vals H.C. Lumbye: Pepita Polka G. Bizet: Habanera fra “Carmen” J. Rodrigo: Adagio fra ”Concerto de Aranjuez” H.C. Lumbye: Bacchus Galop
The wonderful blog of The Royal Watcher has more information and photographs and is definitely also worth a visit:
Day 2
Morning Engagements
The Spanish King and Queen had a rather busy schedule on day 2 of the visit. It began already at 9:30 when the King, accompanied by the Crown Prince, inaugurated a business conference at NH Collection Hotel. Both the Spanish and Danish Ministers of Foreign Affairs were present as were representatives from Spanish as well as Danish businesses. His Majesty and His Royal Highness gave speeches before talking to several of the participants.
At eleven o’clock the King and the Crown Prince was back at the Citadel where the Spanish Royal Couple began the carriage procession the previous day. They were joined by their wives as they were welcomed by the Commander of Copenhagen Colonel Mads Rahbek. Here Their Majesties placed a wreath at the Monument for Denmark’s International Effort since 1948. The Spanish Queen was wrapped up in a camel coloured warm coat. But one could just see that she wore a green dress underneath and that combined perfectly with the Emerald earrings sparkling in her ears. Crown Princess Mary had chosen a white coat while the King and Crown Prince both wore black coats.
Half an hour later the Spanish Royal Couple and the Danish Crown Princely Couple were joined by the Danish Queen at Copenhagen City Hall where they were welcomed by the Mayor of Copenhagen.
Afternoon Engagements
When the State Visit was still in the planning phase the Spanish Royal Couple had expressed a wish to visit the University of Copenhagen. They were especially interested in seeing the book called Libro de los Epítomes. This important book is part of the catalogue of the huge library of Hernando (Fernando) Columbus, son of the famous explorer Christopher. In its days the library was one of the largest, if not the largest, in Europe, with an estimated 15.000 volumes. The Libro de los Epítomes was considered lost for a long time until it was just fairly recently discovered by chance in the Arnamagnæan collection at the University of Copenhagen. So after the reception at the City Hall the Royal Party headed over to the University where Professor Matthew Driscoll was more than happy to show the Spanish monarchs the famed book. They were also shown other items from the collection of the Royal Library to showcase the connection that has existed between Spain and Denmark for a long time before meeting investigators from Spain working at various universities in Denmark.
Having spent a few hours with her guests Queen Margrethe now retired though the day was far from over for the Spanish King and Queen. They now split up and while the King and the Crown Prince attended a business luncheon the Queen, together with the Crown Princess, paid a visit to Rigshospitalet (the National Hospital) where they among other things was given an orientation on the new Mary Elizabeth’s Hospital for children being built.
The King had one more post on his schedule before the return event that evening. At Christiansborg Palace, which not only houses the grandest of the Royal State Rooms but also serves as the home for the Danish Parliament, His Majesty was welcomed by the President of the Parliament.
Return Event
In the evening the King and Queen of Spain hosted a reception in thanks for the warm welcome they had received in Denmark. The venue Glyptoteket (the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek) Museum is the home of the collection of Carl Jacobsen, the son of the founder of the Carlsberg breweries. Although renowned for its collection of sculptures it also has an excellent collection of paintings.
First of the Danish Royal guests was Princess Benedikte closely followed by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. They were received at the entrance by the Spanish Ambassador to Denmark. The last one to arrive was the evening’s guest of honour; the Queen of Denmark. Her Majesty looked very elegant in a black lace top and a vibrant red long skirt. A touch of red could also be seen on the top since she wore the Order of the Golden Fleece on a red bow.
Sadly for those who enjoy the splendour of a full-blown gala event this evening’s dress code was a simple suit and tie for the men and cocktail dresses for the ladies.
Before the reception the guests were given a tour of the exhibition of “Joaquín Sorolla – Lys i bevægelse” (Light in Motion) which was in this matter inaugurated. It is well-known that the Danish Queen is very interested in the arts so this must have been a perfect way for the Spanish guests to thank the Danish Queen for the hospitality.
During the reception the King also gave a speech.
Day 3
Morning Engagements
The third and final day of the State Visit began at Fredensborg Palace where the King and Queen of Spain had been staying during their visit. Here Queen Margrethe invited her Royal guests to be part of a long standing tradition; to put their signatures on one of window panes in the palace. After having signed both the window pane with a special pen with a diamond tip and the visitors’ book the Spanish Royal Couple bid the Danish Queen farewell and once more thanking Her Majesty for the warm welcome extended to them.
Next post on the program was a visit to Danish Architecture Centre at BLOX. BLOX is described as a meeting place for architecture, design, and new ideas in Denmark. The King and Queen were accompanied by the Crown Princely Couple as they were given a tour of the exhibition ”Copenhagen in Common” showing the city development in Copenhagen since 1947. Afterwards the Royal guests took part in a discussion around sustainable city development and planning.
Before bidding farewell to Denmark for now the King and Queen attended a reception for the Spanish community in Denmark at Moltke’s Mansion (“Moltkes Palæ”).
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REGAL EVENTS 